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Legislator Profile - Representative Kimberly Yee Representative Yee has a manner that is, in person, as easy, relaxed and charming as it appears on a local morning television show. She has appeared on this show on several occaions to share her innovative craft and project ideas. Her television colleagues have described her as a "creative crafts guru" and the "most creative person in the world." Given the enormous challenges faced by the State of Arizona, the Legislature can certainly use the creativity and fresh ideas that Yee brings to the enterprise of lawmaking. Of her many accomplishments, Yee is especially proud to be the first Asian-American woman ever elected to the Arizona Legislature. Accordingly, she feels a special responsibility toward the state's Asian-American community. Given the hardships endured by her forebears in pursuit of the American Dream, it is a responsibility she does not take lightly. Yee treasures the sacrifices made by her ancestors who traveled to America from China in search of a better life. Both of her grandparents were hard-working, small business owners who worked tirelessly around the clock, raising their families in a new land of opportunity. Yee derives much of her empathetic and caring nature from her mother, who taught in public schools for 38 years. Working in underprivileged school districts, her students would sometimes call her "Mom," because she was the most maternal and stable presence in their lives. "Fridays were hard for some of these kids, because they knew they wouldn't see their 'mom' for two days," Yee recalls. Every summer, the future representative would sort through her clothes to create a pile of hand-me-downs to contribute to her mother's extended family of needy children. The experience sensitized Representative Yee to the needs of the less fortunate and led to her strong advocacy of educational justice. "All children deserve equal educational opportunities," Representative Yee asserts. "Your access to a good education shouldn't be determined by where you come from or what neighborhood you live in." Growing up in the same district she currently represents, Yee gravitated toward politics at Greenway High School, from which she graduated in 1992. Though she served as class president during most of her high school career, she became focused on "adult" politics largely because of her service as the art director and editorial cartoonist for the Demon Dispatch, Greenway's school paper. At the time, the school principal was regularly censoring stories and preventing her cartoons and other students' news articles from being published. A student of government who was interested in First Amendment rights, the young opinion leader questioned why free speech was so restrained on campus. At the time, an elected official learned of censorship at the Demon Dispatch and sponsored legislation to protect freedom of speech rights for high school and college students. The elected official contacted Yee, and in due course, she found herself testifying before the Senate Committee on Education in support of student speech rights legislation sponsored by the lawmaker. The bill was reported with a do-pass recommendation on the day she testified, and the eighteen-year-old Yee was hooked. Following her graduation from high school, Yee enrolled at Pepperdine University, where she received dual undergraduate degrees in english and political science. She continued her postgraduate education at Arizona State University, where she received a master's degree in public administration. At Pepperdine, Yee showed that she had indeed inherited the work ethic of her forebears. Demonstrating initiative and industriousness, she worked: as an assistant curator at the campus art museum; for the student paper; as a resident advisor; and as an off-campus nanny. In her senior year, she was awarded a prestigious fellowship to the California Executive Fellowship Program and served in the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, specializing in childcare, preschool development and K-12 education. Her success in the position led to her appointment as a policy advisor to California's State Board of Education under Governor Pete Wilson. At the tender age of 23, she was the youngest Administration official to be administered the oath of office. Following her service to Governor Wilson, Yee returned home to Arizona to serve as senior staff to the Senate Committee on Education - the very committee before which she had testified as a high school senior. From 1998 to 2003, she helped draft many of Arizona's laws to improve and advance the state's public education system. In 2004, the Terminator called and Yee took another turn through the public policy revolving door between Arizona and California. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Yee to serve as Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Education and Consumer Affairs, Labor, and Workforce Development for the State of California. Although she was too busy to be distracted by star-gazing, opportunities to rub elbows with the rich and famous were legion. "It seemed that every celebrity you could imagine wanted to spend time with the Governor. I met Jesse Jackson, Clint Eastwood, Danny DeVito - really, too many stars to recall. Rob Lowe spent an entire day shadowing Governor Schwarzenegger, preparing for his role on West Wing." As much as she may have enjoyed spending more time with the visiting screen idols, Yee had more important matters to attend to - like California's budget crisis. Accordingly, she helped conceive and organize the state's first ever garage sale. "I learned that the state had an enormous amount of surplus property stored in warehouses. Some of it was seized property, but the warehouses were also filled with boxes and boxes of unused office supplies that agencies had purchased in year-end spending sprees to keep their baselines elevated. By selling off these items, we'd get some return on the expense, and we'd save on future warehousing fees." The statewide garage sale was a sensation. It was advertised worldwide and garnered mountains of earned media. The Arnold even donated a movie jacket. Lines formed the night before the sale in Sacramento, and buyers had to park miles away. Of course, the sale didn't solve California's budget woes, but the outside-the-box event did sensitize people to the urgency of the budget problem and demonstrated that the state was leaving no stone unturned in its effort to deal with the situation. Following her service to Governor Schwarzenegger, Yee returned to Arizona where she served then-Treasurer Dean Martin as Director of Communications and Government Affairs. She also dove headlong into state politics as Chairman of the Legislative District 10 Republican Committee. On August 2, 2010, she was appointed to serve the remaining term of Representative Doug Quelland, who was removed from office for campaign finance irregularities. The following November, she won the seat in her own right as the top vote-getter among all District 10 general election candidates. As a legislator, Representative Yee continues to focus on educational issues as the vice chairwoman of the Committee on Education. She also serves on the Committee on Health and Human Services and the Committee on Employment and Regulatory Affairs. Representing the cities of Glendale and Phoenix, Yee describes herself as, "a huge advocate for local government and local control." She respects those of her colleagues who have local government experience and cites League award winners Steve Urie and Karen Fann as valuable resources on whom she relies for guidance and information regarding municipal issues. The many years Yee spent working for elected officials and crafting public policy proposals have provided her a unique foundation to bring to the job as a member of the Arizona Legislature. And, as seen in her own hand-painted artwork displayed in her office, Yee brings to the job an ability to create vibrant colors on what began as a blank canvas. These are fitting preparations for her service at the Legislature, which benefits as much from her abiding grace as her notable creativity. |
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Legislative Bulletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. Forward your comments or suggestions to league@azleague.org. |
